A first-half goal from Cyriel Dessers proved enough for Rangers to see off Motherwell 1-0 but the Steelmen did not relinquish their long unbeaten record on the road without a major fight.
Dessers netted against the run of play in the 24th minute when he diverted Rabbi Matondo’s strike past Liam Kelly.
Rangers had chances to extend their lead but there were several anxious moments for the Ibrox support in the latter stages as Oli Shaw and Blair Spittal in particular came close.
There was a smattering of boos from the Rangers fans after the final whistle blew on their 1-0 victory, which sent them above Motherwell into third place, six points behind leaders Celtic.
It was Motherwell’s first cinch Premiership defeat in nine away matches since Stuart Kettlewell took charge in February.
The win came at a cost for Rangers as Matondo went off injured in the first half after twice going down with no-one near him.
Rangers were also missing Tom Lawrence after the attacking midfielder was sent for a scan on the problem that forced him off during Thursday’s Europa League win over Real Betis, joining Danilo, Nico Raskin, Todd Cantwell and Kieron Dowell on the sidelines.
Lawrence’s absence paved the way for Scott Wright to make his first start under Beale while Sam Lammers and Dessers returned.
Motherwell made the brighter start and they had several half-chances to take the lead. Harry Paton and Callum Slattery both curled just wide and Brodie Spencer forced Jack Butland to make a diving save at his near post.
There was another scare for the home team when Lammers diverted a Motherwell free-kick into his own goalmouth but Connor Goldson beat Bevis Mugabi to the ball to head over for a corner.
Rangers scored from their first real effort at goal. Matondo got a chance to shoot from 20 yards and Dessers diverted the ball over Liam Kelly’s dive for his third Rangers goal.
Lammers soon had a shot before Matondo eventually went off. The winger was replaced by centre-back John Souttar as Beale matched up with Motherwell’s formation. Abdallah Sima and Kemar Roofe were more natural replacements on the bench but both had been rested after their exertions in midweek.
Motherwell had a penalty claim in stoppage time when James Tavernier held off Spencer as the wing-back tried to reach Theo Bair’s flick-on but referee Alan Muir played on and there was no delay when the ball went out of play.
Lammers had several chances either side of the break, twice forcing Kelly into saves and volleying wide from Tavernier’s cross.
Spencer was frustrated by another decision from Muir after being penalised as he outmuscled Tavernier to reach a through ball that put him bearing down on Butland.
Kelly denied Dessers and then Lammers as Rangers broke but Motherwell came back into the game after Shaw joined Bair up front. The pair combined for an excellent chance but Butland saved well from the substitute.
Beale handed 16-year-old Bailey Rice, a former Motherwell academy player, his home debut in the 78th minute in a midfield role.
Motherwell came even closer when Spittal played a one-two with Slattery and beat Butland only for Tavernier to clear off the line.
Motherwell had more chances. Shaw’s volley was charged down and Goldson cleared off the line from Spittal, although the flag went up afterwards, and substitute Conor Wilkinson forced two saves.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel